Teeny Tiny Twitter Contest

So I said on Twitter yesterday that if I had 650 followers by noon today I'd run a contest. Um, yeah, that was a little over-ambitious. Not to worry, though, I still want to give away copies of Anathema!

Over the next three days I'll give away three ebooks of Anathema to lucky Tweeters. I'll give away any electronic format the winner chooses. If you already own Anathema, you can win for a friend. I'll also be happy to send Oubliette bookmarks to any who enters if you DM me your mailing address via Twitter.

How do you enter? Easy. Tweet this:

I want to win an e-copy of Anathema by @meggjensen1 http://www.meggjensen.com #kindle #nook #ebook #giveaway

Retweets do not always show up in my feed. The BEST way to enter is to copy and paste the message and then tweet it.

On Friday at 5pm CST the contest will end, I'll randomly choose three winners, and contact them by Monday. Easy peasy!

GOOD LUCK!

Fine print: You may enter as many times as you like. You must be 18 to enter or have your parent's permission. Only entries that show up in my Twitter feed will be counted. Entrants will be assigned a number and winners will be randomly chosen through Random.com.

Trailer Tuesday #4 Adult Thriller/Mystery

Deep Rough by Chris Blewitt



Regret by Dan Dawkins



The Paris Secret by Angela Henry



Final Justice by Mel Comley



Death Line by Geraldine Evans

Oubliette Synopsis

Reychel thought she was finally free. She was wrong.

Everyone saw her gift of prophecy as a blessing, but her gift is controllable. No one alive can teach her to manipulate her unique gift and the answers she needs lie buried within a madman’s journals.

She’s thrust in the midst of a brewing war and the only uniting factor for her people is their belief in the Prophet. Will Reychel learn to control her gift or will she be forced to deliver a false prophecy that could lead her people into a violent, unwinnable war?

In case you missed it, here's the trailer...

Things You Probably Don't Want to Know About Megg: Marching Band

That's me in the middle. The redheaded girl with the red glasses trying desperately to look four inches shorter than she is. I've blocked out my two high school BFF's eyes for their privacy. Yeah, I was super hawt, I know. You can stop drooling now. ;)

I was the BIGGEST marching band nerd you could ever meet and I was proud of it. In 8th grade, I was too young for marching band but I volunteered to be a roadie. I ran around the football field setting flags for the girls in color guard dreaming of the day I would be one of them.

Fast forward one year and yes, I'd made it. I joined the color guard. Sophomore year I became color guard captain. Yes, I was that awesome at twirling flags and fake rifles. Sadly an injury, a marching band injury no less, cut my guard aspirations short.

My junior year I played my piccolo in marching band. Our show had a James Bond theme. You know that awesome high-pitch riff in Live & Let Die? Yeah, baby, that was me on piccolo. As the end of junior year approached and I heard there would be an opening for drum major I knew my time had come.

I tried out and became the lead drum major for my senior year. My mom tells me the band director told her I was by far the best audition (no, I wasn't the only one - there were actually quite a few). Nothing could have made me prouder. Seriously.

What's weird is that since then I've had many, many dreams about high school, and marching band specifically. And in every single dream I quit band my senior year. Weird, right? I don't know why either.

You'd think that since I've been out of high school for more than twenty years, I let go of my love of marching band. Nope. In fact a couple years ago I was outside sweeping my driveway. I felt the broom handle in my hands, so familiar to the size of the flags I used to twirl - and I did it. In my driveway, where I thought no one could see me because they were all at work, I let loose. I flipped that broom up into the air, spun around, caught it, and posed. I knew I still had it and was so excited until I heard a light cough behind me. My neighbor had come outside. He chuckled and said, "I see somebody used to be in marching band." I smiled, winked, and twirled the broom some more. ;)

Trailer Tuesday, #3 SciFi Edition

Today I have two freaking fantastic scifi book trailers for you! Enjoy!

Rogue Hunter: Quest of the Hunter by Kevis Hendrickson



Expert Assistance by Robert Collins

Expectations & Hope vs. Reality

I don't know if everyone thinks like me, but when I embark on something new, like epubbing, I have expectations and hopes.

With expectations, I try to be completely negative - I will sell nothing. Everyone will laugh at me. I am a freaking idiot.

Then I have the hopes - OMG, I'm going to sell a million copies my first week out. People will call me the next JK Rowling (even though my books are nothing like hers). I will be a gazillionaire.

Then there's reality, which falls somewhere in the middle. I've sold nearly 300 copies of Anathema in two months. I've gotten some really amazing reviews. I've also gotten a couple not-so-amazing reviews. I'm happy with what I've achieved, but I'm sure I can do better.

Yeah, that's the only part of me that sounds like a rational person. Too bad the other 2/3 of me sounds a little, well, nuts. ;)

Is everyone else like this? Trying to balance the positive with the negative, yet settling somewhere in the middle with reality?

Things You Probably Don't Want to Know About Megg: Dance Edition

I love to dance. Ever since I was a little girl standing on my daddy's feet, I've had the dancing bug.

I don't care what kind of music it is - I want to dance to it. I've danced in clubs, bars, ballrooms, more bars, in my living room by candlelight, in parks, at concerts, even more bars - well, pretty much everywhere I've ever been.

I know a little more than the basics of swing, lindy hop, and ballroom - and a very tiny amount of salsa. I can shake my ass and spin around until I'm dizzy. Nothing in the world makes me feel as good as dancing.

Unfortunately I'm probably not as hot on the dance floor as I think. I've never seen video of me dancing, and for that I am glad. I'd like to live with the illusion that maybe I have some undiscovered talent and that maybe, just maybe, I should appear on So You Think You Can Dance.

But I know the truth....this is what I look like...Go White Girl, Go White Girl!

Trailer Tuesday, YA trailers

This week I have three awesome YA trailer to share with you. Enjoy! :D

Descendant: The Protector by Daniel W. Koch



The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto



Return the Heart by T.K. Richardson

Am I a "Real" Writer?

Did you see Inception? That's how I dream - full color, frantic, bizarre. When my alarm went off & kicked me out of my dream this morning, I was surprised to realize my dream was about writing. I normally dream I'm trapped in a mall (I think those are about making choices) or on runaway roller coasters or trains (um, crazy life anyone?).

Let's boil the dream down to its basics: Went to a book signing with my DarkSide Publishing girls Karly Kirkpatrick and G.P. Ching, and a blonde woman told us we couldn't sit with everyone else because we aren't "real" authors. We were forced to sit in a basement - needless to say, we didn't sell a whole lot of books.

I didn't think too much about the dream as a reflection on my internal feelings because it took a bizarre turn (more on that later), but as I talked to my friend Eugene about it this morning I realized that somewhere deep inside of me, I still question whether or not I'm a "real" writer since I'm not traditionally published.

Hmmm....I didn't expect that, even though it's probably obvious to everyone else.

Since I was seven I've defined myself as a writer. Sure, I wanted to be an archaeologist or work in a museum (which I did in college - and it was amazing!), but writing has always been my refuge. It got me through adolescence (I saved all of those angsty song lyrics!) and my first marriage & divorce. Without writing, I don't know how I would have made it through those experiences. It offers me an escape and always enables me to connect with my feelings.

Want to know how the dream ended? Well, it dissolved into the DSP girls, our intrepid friend & novelist, Gregory M. Thompson, and me taking out that blonde chick and using my superpowers to call upon a shark - who ate her.

So I guess the answer here is that, yeah, I do consider myself a writer. Maybe my fear isn't so much about accepting myself - but worrying about the acceptance of others. I hope the nearly 300 people who've bought my book over the last two months agree with me. ;)

The Ugly Side of Me

I'm a writer, so I obviously live a glamorous life. I spend my days curled up on a chaise next to my infinity pool. My state-of-the-art Mac rests on my lap while I happily type in my latest novel (no need for editing, naturally). My butler keeps me hydrated with endless iced tea, with lemon and a dash of sugar, and my pool boy...well, you know what pool boys do best. ;)

Or....maybe I hog every spare second I can find between shuttling my kids back and forth to school (three times a day because the youngest is in preschool) to write. My hair is always in a ponytail and makeup applied in less than one minute. And a pool? Yeah, that's the pee on the floor from my schnauzer.

It only gets worse - when I write I need to be alone. I can't be bothered every three seconds with requests for, well, anything, or I completely lose my train of thought. I can't write at the library because I sing, loudly and off-key, with my writing music while I type. Oh, and I don't just type - I pound on the keyboard. The more tense the scene, the harder I type. I prefer to work in long blocks of time, five to six hours, and I do not want anyone to call me. Twitter, however, is a needed and necessary distraction.

Oubliette is out for edits. I'm trying not to think about it being torn to shreds by some of my dearest writer friends. In the meantime I'm gearing up to write the third book in the Cloud Prophet trilogy. I need to finish the first draft before the kids are out for summer or I'll be totally screwed. My kids don't go to sleep away camp. I'm blessed to have them at my heels 24/7 during the summer.

So if you see me, avert your eyes. I'm the ugly troll stomping through town, hair askew, snarling at everyone who passes - until I finish that damn first draft. Then I'll turn back into the smiling, sarcastic princess everyone loves so much.

Oh, Shut Up!: Indie vs. Traditional

Anyone else getting tired of all the arguing? Am I the only one watching this and rolling my eyes?

Yes, I am indie, self-published, whatever you want to call it. (Big debate on Nathan Bransford's blog about this yesterday.)

No, I don't hate New York, agents, or traditional publishing.


Barry Eisler turned down traditional publishers to go indie! *gasp*

Amanda Hocking signed a contract with traditional publishers! *gasp*

It amazes me how much press has centered around how they are both traitors to their roots, not on the achievements and contributions both have made to the greater publishing world. Both have been asked to justify their positions. Really? Why? Let them make their business decisions without facing persecution. It isn't a big deal if they want to discuss their decisions, but they shouldn't have to defend themselves.

The readers aren't complaining and I'd say 95% of this anger stems from in-fighting.

Why can't everyone get along? Why does it have to be one or the other? Plenty of self-pubbed authors have gone on to great success in the traditional world. Others have left traditional publishing for the indie world. I want to know why writers/editors/agents/publishers can't be happy for each other.

Why? Can anyone answer me that?

Price Change

I don't know if you saw, but I reduced the price of Anathema to 99 cents yesterday. I've been considering this change for a few weeks now. There is so much debate in the indie world about pricing - particularly the 99 cent price point.

Some think 99 cents equals crap. Some think 99 cents equals genius marketing.

In my case, 99 cents doesn't equal crap. Here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Amazon - 5 5-star ratings
Barnes&Noble - 5 5-star ratings; 2 1-star ratings (one valid, one just plain weird)
Goodreads - 13 5-star ratings; 4 4-star ratings; 3 3-star ratings

I don't know if 99 cents is marketing genius. It works for some, not for others. No one really knows what turns a book into a bestseller. If I find out, I'll be happy to share. ;)

I think 99 cents will open me up to new readers, which really is all I want. If my writing career was solely about money I'd be a ghost writer or technical writer.

Happy Reading!!!

Megg

Trailer Tuesday, #1 DarkSide Awesomeness

Hey guys! Since I love book trailers so much I thought I'd start by sharing some with you every Tuesday. I'm starting out this week with trailers from DarkSide Publishing authors. Hope you enjoy! :D

Dream Smashers, by Angela Carlie



The Soulkeepers, by G.P. Ching



Anathema, by Me!



Oubliette, by Me!

Winner & What's Coming Next!!!!

There is a black hole in my brain where names are concerned, especially for important characters. I have so much trouble naming them and I'm thrilled people are willing to help me out!

Eighteen names were suggested for the prophet. If you've read Anathema, you know who he is. If you haven't, then you should go out and buy a copy. (Links to the right.) He plays a more prominent role in Oubliette and I couldn't get away anymore without a name.

I had a hard time choosing and I narrowed it down to seven favorites. Then my eight-year-old and I had a powwow. We discussed the merits of each name and quickly narrowed it down to two names. Then she told me it was too hard and I had to choose. So I went with my gut an chose:

ZELOR

I love Zelor. Just like my character it's creepy, old-fashioned, and a little insane.

A big congrats to LunaMoth, reader and book blogger with the most gorgeous website! Definitely check it out.

So what's coming up on the blog? On Tuesdays I'm starting a new feature called Trailer Tuesday. I happen to adore book trailers and I want to share some with my readers. It won't be only indies, I'll definitely feature some traditionally published books too.

On Thursdays I'm going to make an honest attempt to blog....about something....hopefully something interesting. I'm also open to suggestions if there's anything anyone wants to hear about self-publishing, or writing, or bats (which I know a lot about too).